


The Boy Who Fought

by JokingMasochist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Self-Discovery, Trans Male Character, trans Neville Longbottom - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2017-07-11
Packaged: 2018-12-01 01:12:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11475489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JokingMasochist/pseuds/JokingMasochist
Summary: Neville Longbottom seemed like any other shy boy starting out at Hogwarts, but no one presumed to find out what he was hiding.





	The Boy Who Fought

**Author's Note:**

> I'll try to keep this as canon-compliant as possible, and will update tags as more chapters are posted.

Age 5:

"Heather Alice Longbottom, you are late for supper!" The shrill voice of Augusta Longbottom broke through the humid haze of summer, catching the attention of a rather dirty child playing in the garden. The child tried to brush the mud and dirt off of the new dress, fearing the impending wrath of Gran, and ran inside, making quite a scene of tripping up the steps to land in the woman's imposing shadow. "You are absolutely filthy. Go change into something suitable. By Merlin, if you ruin one more dress, I'll start making you wear boys' clothes."

"Yes, Gran," Heather mumbled before scurrying away. She scrubbed and changed as quickly as possible, grinning as she wondered whether Gran meant the threat. It would certainly be easier to garden and explore the little forest in trousers than in a dress.

 

Age 7:

"But Gran, everyone else is already learning to fly! Can't I just borrow father's old broom?"

"Enough, Heather! What did I tell you about starting a sentence with a conjunction, and in public nonetheless? When you are old enough, you will learn how to apparate; it is much more efficient than flying, and much more dignified. Think of the sight you would make, flying above people in your dress. It simply is not proper."

"I could wear trousers to fly, like I wear in the garden and at home. I don't want to wear dresses anyway; they're annoying and uncomfortable."

"No. I do not fly, and therefore cannot teach you, and it would not be proper for other people to see you running amok in trousers like a boy. I will hear no more of this."

The child was careful to mumble so Gran wouldn't hear, "It's not like I'm a real girl anyway." Augusta Longbottom's mouth tightened almost imperceptibly as she took the hand of her only grandchild and stepped into the floo.

 

Age 9:

Heather Longbottom knew the value of invisibility. The secret was to not actually exist, because if something doesn't exist, and no one expects that particular nothing to be in a particular place, they will not see it. For some reason, Gran always knew exactly where to look, but none of the muggles saw the chubby child observing them from the shadows as they debated politics and history. It's not that the child was interested in politics, but even being invisible around people was less lonely than sitting in the house with just Gran and Quaffle the elf for company. 

One name jumped out of the conversation into the child's focus. "Neville." Neville seemed like a good name. Heather wished very hard that her name was Neville. Perhaps then she could wear trousers all the time, and not have to try to be so dainty.

 

Age 11:

An owl came in at breakfast and dropped a letter directly on the head of the child. "Oh, Heather, I am so proud of you, and your parents would be too! It must be your letter from Hogwarts. Come now, let's see!" The child was staring at the envelope in disbelief, and when she saw the envelope, so was the grandmother.

"Mr. Neville Frank Longbottom  
Longbottom Manor"

The child began to open the envelope, feeling both more and less nervous about the coming school term. How could they have known? He hadn't told anyone. Perhaps they knew the same way they knew witches and wizards from squibs and muggles?

Augusta was about to stop her grandchild from opening a letter addressed to someone else, when a second owl flew in with a letter addressed to her. 

"Mrs. Augusta Longbottom,

It has come to my attention that your grandson, Neville, was previously known by a different name and gender. Our enrollment lists are magically generated in order to detect children of magical ability without regard to blood status and family affiliation, and, in rare but not unique cases, will show a name that does not match a person's legal identity. History has shown that these are not errors, and the inner identity that displays on the list is an indication of a person's true self, rather than a whim or phase. If you and Neville would like to discuss this, please send a reply with my owl and I would be delighted to meet with you in person. I know that you value discretion, which I believe to be the best policy in situations sure as this.

Yours sincerely,  
Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Headmaster."

Augusta finished reading first, and watched the myriad of emotions flickering across her grandchild's face as they read the Hogwarts letter and flipped through the list of materials. Finally, Neville looked up and their eyes met, Neville's filled with nervousness and Gran's sparkling in an unreadable way.

"Well, Neville... The path ahead of you may not be easy, but you are a Longbottom, and we can overcome anything." She quickly wrapped him in a rare hug, in part to disguise her even rarer tears.

**Author's Note:**

> To be continued...
> 
> Comments are very much appreciated. When I get around to posting more chapters, the format of writing will be a bit different, but this seemed like the best way to set up a background.
> 
> (I know that there are a wide variety of ages at which people realize they are transgender. Personally, I realized around age 19, because as a kid and teen, I really didn't put any thought into gender, and didn't know anything about gender identity. If anyone can offer insight about transition and feelings at a younger age, it would be very helpful.)


End file.
